Cristiano Ronaldo’s goalscoring record: List of top goalscorers of all time, although the total is up for debate Cristiano Ronaldo’s career has been built on achieving the seemingly impossible with an ever-present ruthless efficiency in front of the goal. The 37-year-old has broken scoring records throughout his trophy-laden career as he is the all-time leading goalscorer for both Real Madrid and the Portuguese national team, truly amazing achievements.
However, his hat trick in Manchester United’s dramatic 3–2 Premier League win over Tottenham on 12 March 2022 set a new benchmark of personal excellence for Ronaldo. The first hat trick since returning to United in the summer of 2021 took Ronaldo up to 807 career goals, with the multiple feats crowning him as the all-time top goalscorer in men’s football history as recognized by FIFA.
He scored six more goals in the 2021/22 Premier League season and scored two more UEFA Nations League goals with Portugal in June 2022. He has three more goals in the 2022/23 season: two against FC Sheriff in the Europa League and one against Everton in the Premier League to reach the 818-goal mark. It happened in 819 in Portugal’s first match at the World Cup, in which he scored a penalty against Ghana.
His strike against Everton also took his tally at the club level to a remarkable 700.
Sporting News asked FIFA to confirm the list, but the world governing body said it does not keep an official list of individual player goals scored statistics. This has not stopped other online outlets, including Goal.com, from listing the following top 10 “FIFA recognized goals” totals:
Order
| Ranking | Player | Goals |
| 1. | Cristiano Ronaldo | 819 |
| 2. | Josef Bican | 805 |
| 3. | Lionel Messi | 788 |
| 4. | Romario | 772 |
| 5. | Pele | 757 |
| 6. | Ferenc Puskas | 746 |
| 7. | Gerd Muller | 734 |
| 8. | Ferenc Deak | 576 |
| 9. | Uwe Seeler | 575 |
| 9. | Tulio Maravilha | 575 |
Ronaldo broke the FIFA goalscoring record
Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal-scoring record performances have reignited United fans’ admiration for their hero and their view of him as the ultimate “GOAT”.
However, the record itself is open to interpretation, with some football historians saying it is impossible to know for sure due to the lack of accurate records in football before the 20th century.
The record Ronaldo broke relates to the estimated number of matches and goals recorded by FIFA during their existence as an organization, with the previous record holder Josef Bican scoring a whopping 805 goals between 1931 and 1955. But there is still plenty of dispute over Bican’s actual numbers, with Brazilian icon Pele also claiming he scored over 1,000 career goals – although this has not been confirmed.
No consensus on the men’s world record
In terms of recognized accolades, Ronaldo has now established himself as “the top goalscorer in recognized FIFA games”, but the arguments will continue to rage.
The Czech FA regularly disputed Bican’s figure of 805, claiming that he had actually scored 821 when the final scores were recorded.
The best scorer in football history?
The history and statistics commission of the FA CR added up all the goals scored by the legendary Josef Bican and we can state that he scored 821 goals in official matches.
In this, however, Ronaldo has record holders on his side, whose own figures are indisputable and unrelated to amateur football, like some of Pele’s goals.
Brian’s numbers illustrate the information gap between national federations and world governing body FIFA, with his domestic supporters claiming the higher figure is accurate, with FIFA saying both could be wrong with a possible total of 823,
Pele’s one-man crusade to stay at the top of the heap has taken on a personal angle for the Brazilian legend, with his ‘official number 757, but the man himself claims to have reached a whopping 1,283 despite the distinct shortfall. proof.
FIFA and South American body CONMEBOL previously registered Pelé with 1,281 goals in 1,363 games, but that includes youth, friendlies, and unofficial matches, which Ronaldo’s figure does not include.
According to the authoritative and widely cited RSSSF (Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation), their totals and rankings also vary.
The situation will be further complicated by the Guinness Book of Records, which added the confirmation of Pelé as a record holder, but with 1279 goals, since exhibition goals are prohibited by their counting.
One way to interpret this jumble of information: Ronaldo is the new leader in “goals in official matches”, with Pele’s questionable numbers giving him the edge in “total games”.
Where did Ronaldo score his 819 goals?
He collected 145 at Manchester United, as well as 118 for the Portuguese national team, 101 for Juventus, and five for Sporting CP.
| Team | Goals |
|---|---|
| Real Madrid | 450 |
| Manchester United | 145 |
| Portugal national team | 118 |
| Juventus | 101 |
| Sporting CP | 5 |
More goals could be added to the tally as Ronaldo shows he can still score with the best of them. His 18 Premier League goals in 2021/22 were good for third in the English top flight behind Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min (23 goals). In the previous year, he finished as the top scorer at Euro 2021 and in the Italian Serie A season with Juventus (29 goals).
A reminder of his longevity came with a record hat trick against Tottenham. He scored another Premier League hat-trick just a few weeks later against Norwich City (16 April):14 – Cristiano Ronaldo scores his second Premier League hat-trick and first since January 2008 against Newcastle. His two tallies were separated by 14 years and 59 days, the longest gap between hat tricks for a player in Premier League history. Longevity.